The Cast of 'Scrooged,' Then and Now

8:30 AM 11/23/2018

by
Christi Carras

The Christmas classic starring Bill Murray turns 30 this month.

Photofest

Deck the halls — Scrooged, the holiday classic starring Bill Murray, turns 30 this month. And Murray isn't the only actor who continued an illustrious career years after the workplace take on Charles Dickens' Christmas tale premiered Nov. 23, 1988.

With its initial release, Scrooged scored more than $60 million at the U.S. box office and a 1989 Oscar nomination for makeup. From overworked executives to ghosts of Christmas past, the dark comedy's cast features Murray, Karen Allen, John Forsythe, Bobcat Goldthwait, Robert Mitchum, Alfre Woodard and more.

In the spirit of the holiday season and the film's anniversary, The Hollywood Reporter takes a look at what the original cast has been up to since the late '80s, from Oscar and Emmy nominations to comedy specials and Broadway careers.

Bill Murray

Frank Cross

Paramount Pictures/Photofest; Steve Granitz/WireImage

The comedy star had already headlined several Hollywood films before playing a TV network executive scrooge in this Dickensian adaptation. After a stint on Saturday Night Live shot Murray to superstardom, he went on to appear in a number of comedy staples, including Stripes, Caddyshack and Ghostbusters. Ghostbusters 2, Groundhog Day, Space Jam, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Jungle Book and Lost in Translation — for which he scored a best actor Oscar nomination — mark just a few of Murray's more notable film credits post-1988. He has also returned as host of his alma mater, SNL, five times. Most recently, Murray continued a long relationship with director Wes Anderson by voicing one of his furry friends in 2018's Isle of Dogs.

Karen Allen

Claire Phillips

Paramount Pictures/Photofest; David Livingston/Getty Images

Before Allen starred in Scrooged as Frank's one that got away, audiences already knew her as Harrison Ford's love interest, Marion, in George Lucas' hit Indiana Jones franchise. She reprised her role along with Ford in the 2008 reboot of the saga, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Apart from her famous turns in Scrooged and the Indiana Jones canon, Allen has starred in many more films since the '70s, including Animal House, The Wanderers, Starman, Malcolm X and the Sandlot. Her latest role was in 2016's Year by the Sea, directed by Alexander Janko.

John Forsythe

Lew Hayward

Screengrab; Steve Granitz/WireImage

Forsythe was already a Hollywood legend before he became the first ghost to visit Murray's Frank in Scrooged. Perhaps one of his most iconic roles early in his career was a role in which is was not seen, but heard, as the original Charles Townsend in the hit TV series Charlie's Angels. Some of his more notable early film roles include leading man Sam Marlowe in Alfred Hitchcock's The Trouble With Harry and police agent Alvin Dewey in Truman Capote's In Cold Blood. After Scrooged, Forsythe continued his already-illustrious TV career as patriarch Blake Carrington in Dynasty, for which he won multiple Golden Globes. His final role before his death in 2010 was a reprise for Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, starring Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu and Cameron Diaz.

Bobcat Goldthwait

Eliot Loudermilk

Screengrab; Matthew Eisman/Getty Images

Before Scrooged, Goldthwait first came to fame as a standup comedian, making several cameos in various projects as himself. Scrooged, however, was one of his first major character roles as burned ex-employee Eliot Loudermilk. Since then, Goldthwait has gone on to lend his comedic talent to several movies and TV series, including several voice roles in Disney's Hercules, Bob's Burgers and Buzz Lightyear of Star Command. Goldthwait also has several directing credits to his name, such as Chapelle's Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live!, as well as films like Shakes the Clown, World's Greatest Dad and God Bless America. His latest endeavor involves directing and producing Bobcat Goldthwait's Misfits and Monsters for TruTV.

Carol Kane

Ghost of Christmas Present

Paramount Pictures / Photofest; Steve Granitz/WireImage

Kane had already secured an Oscar nomination before coming back from the dead as the Ghost of Christmas Present in Scrooged. Her turn as a troubled Russian immigrant in Hester Street put her on the map with a best actress nom in 1976. Prior to Scrooged, she also went on to star in more iconic films like Annie Hall, When a Stranger Calls and ThePrincess Bride. Since the late '80s, she's had several live-action and voice roles in film and TV projects like Seinfeld, Family Guy, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, Girls, Phineas and Ferb, Taxi — for which she received two Emmys and Golden Globe nomination — and, most recently, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. She has also starred on Broadway as Madame Morrible in Wicked.

Robert Mitchum

Preston Rhinelander

The picture of Mitchum at left was taken in 1988, nine years before he died.

Screengrab; Bob Riha Jr/WireImage

Like Kane, Mitchum had also built up a critically acclaimed career before playing Frank's boss in Scrooged. In 1947, Mitchum received a supporting actor Oscar nomination for his work in Story of G.I. Joe. Throughout the '40s, '50s and '60s, he starred in a number of classic Hollywood films, including Out of the Past, The Night of the Hunter,The Longest Day, Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison and River of No Return, starring alongside silver screen legends like Marilyn Monroe, Jean Simmons, Susan Hayward, Jane Russell and more. Mitchum continued acting for nearly 10 years after Scrooged, until his death in 1997, starring in films like Martin Scorsese's Cape Fear and Dead Man with Johnny Depp. His final project was the biopic James Dean: Race With Destiny.

Alfre Woodard

Grace Cooley

By the time Woodard played Frank's hardworking assistant in Scrooged, she had already scored one supporting actress Oscar nomination for Cross Creek and six Emmy nominations for Hill Street Blues, Words by Heart, St. Elsewhere, Unnatural Causes and L.A. Law. Some of her more notable work since the late '80s has included roles in films and TV series like Star Trek, Love & Basketball, A Wrinkle in Time, Desperate Housewives, 12 Years a Slave, Captain America: Civil War, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Empire and Luke Cage. She also scored three Golden Globe nominations for the TV movies Passion Fish, Miss Evers' Boys and Holiday Heart. Next up, she'll voice Sarabi in Disney's 2019 remake of The Lion King.

David Johansen

Ghost of Christmas Past

Paramount Pictures/Photofest; Jim Spellman/WireImage

Far before his turn as the Ghost of Christmas Past in Scrooged, Johansen made a name for himself as the lead singer of the New York Dolls. It wasn't until the mid-'80s that Johansen broke into the acting business, taking a few roles in small films and TV shows before his big screen break in Scrooged. Though he's had acting credits since in films and TV series like Oz, Let it Ride and Free Jack, most of his Hollywood contributions have come in the form of soundtracks and performances for projects like Miami Vice, Everybody Loves Raymond, The Simpsons, The Office, Gotham and Kick-Ass. His next appearance will be in the fantasy film Shadow Girl, starring Megan Fox.

John Glover

Brice Cummings

Walter McBride/Getty Images

Glover established himself as a versatile villain with several projects, including Scrooged, in which his character tries to steal Frank's job. While Scrooged marked one of his early major big screen roles, Glover has since starred in various movies and series, including Murder, She Wrote, South Beach, Batman & Robin, Smallville, Tron: Uprising and more. His latest appearance was in the 2017 TV Movie The Lost Wife of Robert Durst, starring Katharine McPhee.